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category after an earlier partnership with the Logan County Alliance for Community Partnerships and the Logan County Community Coalition for Opiate Relief Efforts (CORE) allowed students to produce marketing materials for a ‘Hope Over Heroin’ campaign in March.

The three students redesigned each marketing and promotion piece from banners, business cards, t-shirts, and stickers to literature such as flyers, pamphlets, and booklets that were distributed to community residents.

At the Ohio SkillsUSA competition held at the Great Columbus Convention Center, Barney, Losh, and Watson presented the ‘Hope Over Heroin’ campaign to judges, students, teachers, and spectators during the Showcase.

“The judges liked that all three of us took an equal share in presenting the campaign and showing the pieces we created that were used to educate residents and make a difference in our community,” said Barney.

In addition to the display of printed materials, Barney, Losh, and Watson also incorporated technology into the design with QR codes and augmented reality using the Aurasma app. After 

downloading the Aurasma app, users were able to view videos that were embedded into specific pictures of the literature.

“The augmented reality was the biggest thing the judges complimented us on,” said Losh. “They liked how we made the presentation come alive through videos even though we created all print materials. Abby Watson did a lot of work on that portion of our project.” 

Each student contributed to the success of the project. Barney conducted the research for the project, collecting facts and figures that would make the most impact in the ‘Hope Over Heroin’ campaign. Losh was in charge of the wide-format printing, the board the group used for the presentation, and the sticker and t-shirt graphic. Watson produced all the artwork for the literature as well as created the augmented reality videos for the Alliance for Community Partnership and the Logan County Community CORE for the campaign.

All three Ohio Hi-Point students said the best part about winning was, “Walking to the stage and seeing Mr. Carrig (our instructor) pumping his arms in the air. For him to be so proud of us was an awesome feeling. He gave us the skills and knowledge to prepare for the competition and we’re happy that we could bring home a gold medal.” 

Printing and Graphic Arts instructor Tom Carrig said, “I’m very proud of Kelsey, Carlie, and Abby. They really stepped it up and put passion into this project. It makes me happy to see they’re learning in a way that’s meaningful outside the classroom. What they’re doing is relevant, important, and has value to the community.”

The trio competed against eight other teams and now will compete against approximately 49 teams at the national level.

“To compete at the next level, we’re going to create a bigger board that showcases what we’re doing,” stated Watson. “We’re also going to recreate the factual video that can be seen using the Aurasma app and involve more of the Ohio Hi-Point student body.”

The SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference is June 22-26 in Louisville, KY, and the students already have an eye on internationals if they come out on top in June.

Barney, Losh, and Watson are seniors enrolled in the Printing and Graphics Arts program at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center main campus in Bellefontaine.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps each student excel. We provide educational programs, events and competitions that support career and technical education (CTE) in the nation’s classrooms. SkillsUSA is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.